Mooring means for airships



Aug. 13, 1929.

R. H. UPSON 1,724,890

IOORIKG MEANS FOR A IRSHIPS Original Filed April 30, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet l FIELI- INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Aug. 13, 1929. UPSON 1,724,890

MOORING MEANS FOR AIHSHIPS Original Filed April 30, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR. FHLPH H. UPSUN M a ATTORNEY.

Patented Aug. 13, 1929.

UNITED STATES RALPH H. UPSON, OI DETROIT,

CORI'ORA'I'ION, OF DETROIT,

MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR 1'0 AIRCRAFT n'avanornm MICHIGAN, .A'CORPOBATION OF MICHIGAN.

MOORING MEANS FOB,v AIRSHIPS Original application filed April: so, 1923, Serial no. 685,410. Divided nd this application filed April 14,

1927. Serial No. 183,674.

This invention relates to airships and particularly to the mooring of airshlps which in the past were referred to as (llllglbles, this application being a division of m 5 application Serial N 0. 635,410 filed April 30, 1923, and this divislonal appllcation relates to method and apparatus for the mooring of airships.

The method and means for mooring are per se the subject-matter of this application,

' while it will be understood that to an extent the transmission of mooring strains to an airship involves certain coordination of any particular method and means with respect 1!! to the structure of the ship, as particularly referred to in my original application where- "in it is explained.

As the mooring of an airshi involves different strains from those inci ent to the stresses due to cruising under-its own power or the normal load and lift strains, a feature of the structural unit must, for practical advantages, be in harmony with the requirements of the particular mooring system 2 used.

It will thus be seen that the inventions involve the coordination of the entire structure for the lifting strains as well as the load, the mooring strains and the strains incident to operation, both on the entire hull and on the parts in proximity to the powermaneuvering and control elements.

These inventions are furthermore particularly applicable to rigid airships and in some cases semi-rigids, though some features, as hereinafter claimed, may be used in the mooring of non-rigid's.

Particular embodiments of my invention rigid lower are shown in the accompanying drawings in' Fig. IV is a vertical section of ground ith a portion of the ships sunnorting carriage or ground-holding mentary local portion of t e ship.

Fig. V is a cr0ss-section of a mooring rail embedded in the ground with the cooperatmg hold-down ground gear and a fragrantary part of the ships bottom landing gm.

t will be understood that the structure of an airship to be moored is such that moormg strains from mooring lines near the bow may be advantageously carried through the hull structure. Thus mooring lines 1, 1, 1, 1, run from hawse holes accessible from some forward gallery of the airship and preferably are hitched to a 'single mooring bridle 2, which by any suitable winch or other means is rove eye 3 of the mooring post 4 which is a fixture at a suitable point in the landing field at terminal or station. This mooring 0st may be made with telescoping shaft or Ease 5, so that when not in use the mooring eye can be lowered into the ground and' the hole pioirsred up, thereby leaving a perfectly flush Surrounding the mooring post a platform or turntable 6 being countersunk in the, ground if desired, runs on circular track 7 and has a-ram 8 extending upward and radially outwar from the centre of the turntable with suitable inclination and suitable dimensions and platform space," so that it will readily accommodate a gangplank 91:0 connect it with the front of the control car 10. In this manner the mooring lines 1, 1, 1, 1 diverge from the bridle 2 at the centre of the turntable, thereby leaving a convenient free s ace for use of the ramp and. gan'gplank or entering and leaving the ship, particularly for passengers, and also for the crew and loading.

'In conjunction with this method of mooring lines and bridle, suitable points on the lower portion of the .ship are provided for keeping the hull on a level keel, that is horizontal when moored on the ground. This is accomplished, in the form herewith shown, by securing buffers or supports 11 as a part of landing gear fixed to the ship, which may be termed landing buffers or skids, and are in the nature, of shock absorbers to resist ear and a fragthrough the i wo supports side by any sudden impact with the ground. These buffers may be used to form the interconnection with the mooring equipment above described, and are supported by struts from the cars 1616, or may be otherwise connected with or incorporated in the ships lower hull construction. As shown in Fig. I, the cars Mi -16 are power cars respectively forward and aft the middle of the ship, and which therefore'provide a definite support that will maintain-the ship on a predetermined substantially horizontal keel As will be seen from Fig. V, the weight or lift strains on the landing base or foot while distributed to two power cars, form a single support under the longitudinal niiddle of the ship, which therefore permits rolling of the ship without setting up any tins that would occur in case there were side. As herein shown,

. the buffers 11 are clamped to a trolley 12 wvith trolley wheels 13 running on a channel rail 4 embedded in the ground. Two of these channel rails 14-44: are placed circularly around the centre of the mooring post, and at suitable radii to accommodate the relative position of the two points of attachment at the lower part of the hull as designed for any particular ship. When so attached the two widely separated points of attachment assure the horizontal alignment and distribute any lifting strains well over the hull structure, while the point-attachment at the ground mooring post, with a suitable swivel or actual turning of the mooring post, permits the ship to ride at anchor with the wind. When thus moored to the ground the strains involved in airresistance are transmitted by the mooring lines to a most suitable part of the rigid structure, and any variation in buoyancy is held in restraint by the connections between the cars and circular riding rails, while any strains thus involved are likewisetransmitted to the structurally robust parts of the hull.

It will be seen that the general proportions of the particular airship herein specifically shown, are approximately a length of three and a half times the maximum diameter. The ratio of diameter to length in this order, that is the fineness ratio, but not exceeding approximately four and a half to one, provides certain advantages to meet mooring conditions. That is the position of centre of pressure when the wind is at a slight angle off the bow, is actually behind the nose of the ship with such fineness ratio of design. Thus if the ship swings with the wind, as indicated by Fig. II, the angle of wind would always be substantially dead ahead, and the centre of wind pressure would therefore be in a position with respect to which the mooring points of con nection with the hull give particular ad- 'sible,

vantages for steadiness in ground mooring, as shown in the drawings forming a part hereof. While a certain leeway is permistheoretical considerations with respect to the strains establish limits of the ratio of fineness of the ship, but the features of construction lend themselves most admirably to approximately the general proportions herein shown as suited to meet the mooring strains and also steady the ship when moored, preventing yawing and roll ing, and in general provide a most advantageous balance of conditions for the pur poses of my invention.

The characteristics of this construction offer advantages of modified practice of mooring of ships. With the rapid improvement tending to greater reliability of air ships, with metal envelope and the other advantages eliminating fire danger, and the constant improvement in various features, it is believed that the time is not far distant when an airship will remain in the open as a matter of course, and will have to be brought into a hangar only in great emergency or for general overhauling and special repairs, in general just as great vessels are kept at their moorings and are not put intodrydock except in emergency or for general overhauling.

The construction of ship set forth in my original application provides for the mooring of an airship to great advantage. The mooring line strains carry to the most robust structural part of the ship and the structure is such that strains from wind resistance when moored will be properly transmitted and resisted throughout the hull. The structural factors which admirably provide for the accommodation of live loads such as passengers and goods, likewise lend themselves to a bottom connect-ion to the ground. This contacting with the ground has its advantages in making a landing, with the live load accommodations, and particularly the passenger compartments remote from the ground contact elements specially suited for landing, and also admirably disposed to accommodate the handling of the ship or landing without any interference with the passenger space. After landing, like advantages attend the ship warped to the ground by the mooring lines and the ship bottom ground contacts with ample facilities for steadying lines if such are found desirable, in conjunction with means to permit suitable swing with the wind to avoid unnecessary and excessive lateral wind strains.

lVith the great advantage of bringing an airship close to the ground, the discharge and embarking facilities become greatly simplified. For practical use of airships the embarking and disembarking or loading and unloading are a factor of major importance. The mooring requirements as herein set forth constitute therefore a solution wlth great advantage of one of the problems that heretofore has materially impeded the progress of practical airship use.

The mooring inventions herein described may be regarded independently, but they also lend themselves to .peculiar advantages in combination with the airship structural characteristics of the new type set forth in my original application.

any variations may be made in design and in combination, both as a whole and with respect to the various novel parts or features of combination, from the specific embodiment of construction herewith shown and described in detail. The material used for parts will of course be a matter of selection in the designing of any specific mooring arrangement or the combination of mooring and ship.

With respect to more of the inally described or shown in the drawings, it may be noted that the turntable 6 would be countersunk, if desired, with respect to the adjacent ground, and this is indicated in the dotted lines in Fig. III. Thus with the mooring post adjustable vertically, the central and pivotal mooring equipment for the airship is constructed so that when not in use that area of the field will be entirely flush, so that landing fields so equipped can at all times in the absence of a moored ship, be used without obstacle by airplanes or other craft. Likewise as heretofore stated, the circular tracks may be flush with the surrounding ground and the slot for trolley may be so narrow as to be no obstacle for service vehicles onthe landing field, nor any obstacle for the wheels of airplanes landing or departing, or in any usual manner. The arrangement of slot opening, as shown in Fig. V, lends itself to support beveled planking to entirely cover and protect the slot leaving a perfectly smooth continuous surface, when not in use for ship mooring.

As shown, the channel rail 14 has bottom flange lt and top flange 14', so that the trolley wheel 13 holds the trolley 12 absolutely against both downward pressure of the ship as well as upward or lift strains,-and under all conditions provide for free floating of the trolley when attached to the bottom of the ship. As shown in Figs. IV and V, a wheel 12 is supported in the frame of the trolley 12 and of a diameter slightly less than the walls of the slot of the circular rail structure as a whole, and therefore provides for the trolley floating readily with any lateral motion of the ship. The platform or saddle 12 adapted for engagement and securing of the buffers 11, provides the means for securing the ship at such grounding details as origpoints in a manner that resists both the upward or lift strains of the ship when moored,

' and also resists the load of the ship when any variation of trim ,would otherwise tend to force the ship down. With the buffer rigidly secured by struts 15 to the power cars-16, the entire lift or load, depending upon the trim of the ship is transmitted in both these directions to the buffer, and therefore-to the the suitable transmission of strains when aload condition exists as well asmore effectually distributing lift strains.

By having two ground. mooring buffers suitably positioned, as shown in Fig. I, and each resisting load as well as lift, my ground mooring provides for holding an airship horizontal when moored to the ground, or, at such predetermined substantially horizontal position, and at the same time resisting longitudinal strains by how connections which permit free swinging by-the-wind. In this respect my invention obviates one of the great dangers or serious defects of mooring heretofore suggested because it prevents any change of trim back of the bow mooring from causing the ships tail to di and crash on the ground. With this the lig t and simple ground connections for load as well as lift permit perfect freedom of floating laterally, so that at all times the strains set up by the wind will be substantially in the direction of the axis of the ship and resisted by the ships structure which is essentially designed to meet'all the conditions of head winds.

While the round gear as specifically shown in the orm herewith illustrated includes tracks, it will be understood that the important features of my invention may in various modified .forms be realized with suitable ground gear that is freely floating around the bow mooring, such as surface trucks, provided that they embody means to resist load as well as lift in order that the substantially horizontal position of the ship may be controlled in order that neither bow nor stern movement is permitted that would cause ground collision upon any variation of trim while the ship is at its moorings. \Vith the buffers as shown, suitably supported on a table or cradle, lateral rollin of the ship is also accommodated'without undue strains to the ship or the landing gear, and without interference with the proper functioning of the mooring with respect to the various advantages in my method and apparatus.

It will thus be seen that upon the a proach of a ship to the mooring station, t

x the same freely floating bow cable draws the ship into the wind until it has reached a position where a ground crew can couple the forward floating ground gear, and thereafter settle the stern on to the rear ground gear. Such freely floating gear may also involve pontoons with the necessary characteristics for load and. lift, permitting floating around a suitable water area, or runners or skiis may under peculiar climatic conditions provide qualities of the ground gear inthe various modifications of the invention as hereinafter more specifically claimed. While the bow line mooring extends usually from the ships nose in various forms and depending upon the particular type of ship, the advantages of the bridle and double spread connections as herein shown and specifically described,

have their advantages. Thus as the ship is drawn closer to the ground and the single haul-down cable section or bridle shortens, the point from which the ships lines 1, 1, 1, 1 radiate, form side connections tending to steady the ships nose against yawing, and this in combination with the other features of this method and apparatus affords obvious advantages.

Therefore without limiting myself to any specific feature of disclosure or the particular combination or combinations or design herein described and discussed,what I claim and desire. to secure by Letters Patent 1. Airship mooring equipment comprising a ground post with attaching means substantially flush with the surrounding ground and means adapted to depress the post elevation, a turntable position about said post and two circular tracks about said post as a centre, having ship ground gear associated to resist load and lift and adapted to float with the ship and the bow mooring.

2. Ground mooring equipment for airships comprising a swiveling means for attachment of a mooring line substantially flush with the surface ,of the ground, a platform substantially flush with the ground movable around said swivel and a circular track substantially in the plane of the ground with means to resist upward and downwardstrains thereon disposed to float in a course generally circular around the swivel or point of attachment of the ships bow mooring.

3. Means for mooring an airship comprising a shiftable mooring post adapted to pro ject from and be depressed substantially flush with the surrounding ground surface,

aeans for warping a mooring line from the forward part of an airship to said post, means held to the ground and capable of circular movement around said post for attachment of a remote part of the bottom of an airship when the bow is moored to the post.

4:. Means for mooring an airship comprising a disappearing post, means for securing the forward part of said airship to said post so that the airship can revolve about said post, a turntable surrounding said disappearing post having means of access connections with the ship adapted to swing with the ship, and two circular tracks.

5. Airship mooring equipment comprising a fixed ground mooring connection adapted to hold bow-wind strains of the ship and permitting free swing of the ship by-the-wind, a mooring line extending from said ground mooring to attachment with a ship abaft the nose and. below the horizontal axis of the ship, floating ground gear adapted for connection with the bottom of the ship forward of the middle and means for securing the ship thereto for load and lift strains, floating ground gear adapted for engagement with a bottom part of the ship abaft the middle and having means for attachment to the ship to resist load and lift of the ship.

6. Airship mooring comprising a bow mooring line, means for transmitting bowwind strains from the ships-bow to the ground mooring at a vertical axis forward of the bow of the ship comprising a line attached to a forward part of the ship well aft the nose and below the horizontal middle plane, and a plurality of floating ground mooring gear adapted for attachment and ready detachment to bottom points of the ship forward and aft of the middle and preventing vertical movement of the ship at the points of attachment whereby a ground mooring of the ship is provided to maintain the ship on a substantially horizontal keel with variation of trim and permit free floating of the ship about the axis of the bow mooring connection.

7. Means for mooring an airship comprising a bow mooring bridle leading from sides of the bow at points well behind the nose and on the lower half of the hull to a centre mooring point, means for attachment to swivel at the centre mooring point in advance of the connections with the bow of the ship, a plurality of floating ground supports movable in a generally circular path around the bow mooring ground point freely with the swing of the ship, and means on said floating ground gear to cushion the ship against load and holding it against lift displacement while resisting horizontal strains mainly by the bow mooring.

8. Ground mooring for airships comprising downwardly and forwardly extending bow line from a forward part of the ship l'gear under the forward abaft the nose middle plane, ment in advance of the positioned on the and below the horizontal shi s bow fixedly ground, Eoating ground part of the ship having cushiom'n means or attachment to resist ship load 'splacement and a second a revoluable ground attachb lift displacement.

In testimony whereof, I have si name to this March, 1927.

gned m y application this 9th dziy of RALPH H. UPSON. 

